Remember Cliffside

Avondale Map & Aerial Photo

In 1975, Avondale historian Irene Roach Delpino, drawing on the memories of fellow residents, drew a very detailed map of her town as it was around the year 1950.

Also, there's an aerial photo of the Haynes Mill, and many of the homes in that village.

They're in The County section (under History), on the Places and Photos pages.

William T. Ingram, Jr.

The Ingram families were an important part of Cliffside’s proud heritage. Gene Ingram, son of the man we all knew as “Bill,” reflects upon his father's character and his life as a soldier and a father.

The Old Dry Cleaners

It was built in the 1910s as a silent movie theater. In 1926 it was converted to a dry cleaning plant that remained in operation for about 50 years.

Profile: Henry G. Davis

A lifelong resident of Belgium, his spiritual home is Cliffside, home of his father's family, the Henry V. Davis'. His grandfather who Henry G. never met, was our deputy sheriff. His first visit "home" was at age 40, in 1988, when he created the now legendary Cliffside drawings.

“Solon Smart Day,” 1984

We don't yet have information from which to write a profile of Solon, but these two articles on the “Day” named in his honor, and the gathering attended by North Carolina's governor and other dignitaries, will give you some idea of this man's stature and influence. Co-owner and operator of Hawkins Hardware, his was a familiar face in town.

Faces of '44

It may not be the entire collection of 2nd and 3rd graders of that year, but it's close. Bonus: Uncle Ben and Mrs. Johnson.

Christmas Parade 1967

Were you in Cliffside that year? You might even have been IN the parade. It started somewhere up Shelby Highway, came across the creek bridge, went up the hill and through town, then up N. Main, probably to the school. Those were the days. Enjoy a couple dozen photos of that semi-memorable event, provided by Sherry Harris Phelps.

Coal for Duke Power

The Cliffside Steam Station uses an enormous amount of coal. Have you ever given any thought to where it comes from, how it gets here and how it's handled? Here's all you could ever want to know.

The Henrietta Mill

Some background and photos of the mill at Henrietta, which R.R. Haynes built in the late 1890s, before he built the town and mill of Cliffside.

What is this?

And where did it come from? It very likely was issued from a device that, if you lived in Cliffside in the '40s and '50s, you walked by a thousand times. For a penny it dispensed information of a very personal nature.

Bringing Them Home

On the rare occasions the Cliffside Railroad bought a "new" engine, it had to be "brought home" by railroad men like Shirley White (right) and John Padgett.

Family Stories

The oldest graves in Cliffside Cemetery hold four descendents of one Robert Haney, a Revolutionary War veteran and, after 1783, resident of the High Shoals area. It is thought that Haney or his children once owned the land on which Cliffside was later founded.

Old Letterheads

As we were looking through the mill's old correspondence, we were struck by the ornate letterheads companies used in those days, a time when their stationery was their only feasible means of advertising.

The Boys of Summer

In the era when people grew their own food, there was a community cannery in Cliffside. Operated mostly by high school and college students, it was open in growing season and catered to anyone who needed to "put up" their fruits and vegetables. Jim Ruppe relates the history and traditions of the cannery, which was located very close to his family's home.

Living History

From age 16, she was a familiar face at the Haynes Bank and later at the Cliffside and Henrietta branches of First Citizens, where she worked for much of her career. Jane, daughter of John and Maude McCurry Robinson, and wife of Dwight Hamrick, tells of her life in Cliffside.

Her family moved to Cliffside around 1920. At 13, she learned to spin in the mill, a job she had for 50 years. Listen to Don Bailey's interview with Leavy Johnson Scruggs, who, at age 97, has lived a lot of Cliffside's history.

Dr. Rush Shull

A son-in-law of R.R. Haynes, he was one of Cliffside’s physicians from 1912 until 1920 when he moved his practice to Charlotte. We have a four-tab page containing his profile; an account of an amazing adventure in 1941, where he barely escaped death; and an appreciation of his first son, Joseph Rush Shull, Jr.

New Galleries & P-O-M Page

In our idle moments we've redesigned the Galleries & Photo of the Month index. We thought a nice soothing theme of green pastels would be nice. Every once in awhile, thumb through the P-O-Ms. You may run across one you've missed.

Something new and slightly different! A Media Center where you'll find links to all the video and audio material on this site. The new sights and sounds include: extended audio interviews with Myrtle Mashburn and Al Lancaster; and videos of the closing of the mill and of workers drawing the pond back in 2000.

There's a new button in the navigation panel called, what else, "Media." You'll find it on every page that displays the panel, and on every page that displays a bottom menu group.

There's more to come in the next few months. If you have DVD or CD material that relates to Cliffside, let us take a look. We might add it to Remember Cliffside.

Broadus Roach

In the late 1920s and early '30s, Broadus Escoe Roach was a well-known and well-respected figure in our town. He "ran" the memorial Building from 1922 to 1931, was organist at the Baptist Church and was active in youth activities, including the Boy Scouts.

Roach left Cliffside sometime in the '30s. We've wondered what happened to him, then discovered a 1969 article about him that explains everything.

And don't miss the connecting-the-dots story of Mr. Roach's painting of Chimney Rock.

The Old Town Clock

We're lucky to have found a dozen color photos of the Memorial Building being demolished, and the Haynes Memorial Tower being constructed.

The Class of 1943

Surviving classmates recently celebrated their 65th anniversary. Here's a story of that event, along with the original class photo, current photos of some of them, and a 25-year-old news clipping of their 40th anniversary.

Cliffside Sketches

The latest: stories of a true pioneer of Cliffside, James Edward Atkinson (1857-1954), the author's grandfather.

Lest we forget...

The Falls at the Mill (with video)

Old Engine 40 Rides Again

The Town Clock

Who lived where in Cliffside? If you're interested in 1964, we've found an old county cross-reference directory that lists 667 individuals on the streets and roads in and around Cliffside.

Photo of the Month — June

Will the supply of Will Hames' photos of Cliffside's simpler times ever end? We hope not. He was a master at capturing provocative scenes, like this one. It's merely two men with a horse and buggy, but it raises so many questions. Who were they? When did they live? What were their lives like? Pedrhaps we'll never know.

Cliffside Obituaries

It's a collection of 116 death notices from over three decades, from a scrapbook created by Jessie Campbell Carpenter (1891-1984) and contributed by her granddaughter, Linda Webster Poteat.

“I am having fun with your most recent update—what the heck is a 'four-man bus window hanging' competition? How was it scored? How in the world could Cliffside beat Tri-High by 13 to 5? I doubt the entire story.”

Albert Lancaster

Although we have an in-depth interview with 92-year-old Al Lancaster (see Media Center at left), we also present a profile of Al, developed by Jim Ruppe from Don Bailey's interview. It contains a number of Al's family photos. Both audio and written versions provide a unique view of Cliffside in the '20s and '30s.

Society News

There's a new tab on the Society page to contain items about the events and projects of the organization. The first entry is on the Gathering held on Oct. 10.

Dr. Radford

He was the town's doctor for 28 years. When he retired in 1983 several local papers did feature stories on his life and career as a small town doctor. Here are three of them.

Rust Works Slowly

Time can take away the institutions of our youth, but it can't quickly destroy all evidence that they existed.

Poems of Cliffside

“Listen, I’ve got to tell you—
Cannot keep it longer or be still—
Walked down the street one day last week
And got a job in the Cliffside Mill.”

That's just a taste of the poetic offerings you'll find in this new section.

Recent additions: new poems by Billy Ingram and Era Robinson.

From The Rutherford County Sun, dozens of articles and columns from the late 1920s, describing events both tragic and humorous; changes to the town; advertising by Cliffside stores and businesses; and community, school and church news.

Latest addition: In 1919 came news of progress on the new mill in Avondale, Cliffside's support of the recent war, the company's benevolence during the great flu epidemic in the past few months.

Did you ever wonder how it all started? In our Documents section we've added the Articles of Incorporation for Cliffside Mills, dated February 4, 1901. It's the agreement between R. R. Haynes and his other partners to start a business that would prosper for over 100 years.

Remember those old two, three and four digit phone numbers? Find the number of everyone in town in the Rutherford County Phone Directory for 1944.

Browse through these and many other old Cliffside papers. This is history, folks.

Recent addition: Cliffside Historical Society Newsletter Volume I.

In The News

We've found a delightful description, written in 1903, of the "Cliffside style" of marrying, which usually amounted to little more than the couple running down to South Carolina (without telling her folks), and getting back in time to work their next shift in the mill. And, from 1911, a Lattimore contributor to The Sun, who called himself "Corn Cracker," tells of his trip to the impressive town of Cliffside. Both articles are found in In The News, Miscellaneous.

Visit The Archives

The snippets on this page appear for only a few months and then, alas, in order to make room for new features, they vanish into thin air.

Or do they?

Actually they don't vanish at all, but take up residence on one of our archives pages. Browse through them occasionally. You may find an item you missed when it was first published.

Note: None of the pages on this site is ever archived, all remain wherever they were first stored, in History, Memories, etc. Only these front-page teasers are moved to the archive section.

Find the house where you lived and the streets where you walked and played, on this map drawn in 1942.

Were you aware?

There is a list of all four dozen Photos of the Month we've selected since Remember Cliffside began in 2002. On the Galleries home page you can go through the list and revisit all those outstanding photos.

Why this web site?

In the southeastern corner of Rutherford County, North Carolina, along the Second Broad River, is the village of Cliffside. Or more accurately, what's left of the village of Cliffside. This site is dedicated to preserving the memories and lore of the little mill town we once knew.